{"id":125126,"date":"2025-06-12T22:56:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T22:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/125126\/"},"modified":"2025-06-12T22:56:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T22:56:10","slug":"why-khalil-mack-returned-to-the-chargers-it-was-a-no-brainer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/125126\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Khalil Mack returned to the Chargers: ‘It was a no-brainer’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Facing unrestricted free agency for the first time in his illustrious career, Khalil Mack<\/a> could have chosen any team to chase his championship ambitions. Why did the star edge rusher choose to stick with a franchise that has never won the Super Bowl?<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not here?\u201d the Chargers<\/a> edge rusher wondered back.<\/p>\n

Praising the leadership under coach Jim Harbaugh<\/a> and general manager Joe Hortiz<\/a>, the players on the roster and his familiarity with the franchise, Mack\u2019s decision to return to the Chargers wasn\u2019t that complicated at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a no-brainer,\u201d he said this week during Chargers minicamp in his first comments with local reporters since January. <\/p>\n

In his last public comments, Mack was swirling in the disappointment of the Chargers\u2019 wild-card loss to the Houston Texans<\/a>. The 34-year-old flirted with retirement. For a former two-star recruit who went to Buffalo, Mack has little else to prove at the professional level. Nine Pro Bowl selections. Three All-Pro honors. The 2016 Associated Press defensive player of the year.<\/p>\n

But still no playoff wins.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re chasing that feeling of wanting to win important games deep in the season,\u201d said Mack, who has gone one-and-done in the postseason five times. \u201cBeing that I haven\u2019t reached that point yet, I couldn\u2019t give up on that dream and that goal for myself and for this franchise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mired in their own postseason drought, the Chargers have not won a playoff game since the 2018 season. Their last two attempts flamed out spectacularly. The 27-point blown lead in Jan. 2023 was the largest in franchise history. Last year, quarterback Justin Herbert threw a career-high four interceptions against Houston.<\/p>\n

Despite the jarring end, the Chargers\u2019 surprising 11-6 regular-season record in the first year under Harbaugh positions the franchise well for the long-awaited breakthrough. Wanting to continue the momentum was a key hope for the offseason.<\/p>\n

\u201cl was begging and pleading with him to come back,\u201d safety Derwin James Jr. said. \u201cI just knew for him to come back like that, he really loves us and he really wants a shot at it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mack, who signed a reported one-year, $18 million deal, had six sacks and 39 tackles last season, a stark drop from his resurgent 2023 that featured a career-high 17 sacks and 75 tackles. Nursing a complicated groin injury, he missed a game for the first time in his Chargers tenure.<\/p>\n

But entering his 12th season, Mack insists getting in top physical shape is the easy part. On Thursday, Harbaugh was shocked when reminded that Mack was 34 years old. Mack was working with Chargers executive director of player performance Ben Herbert for weeks before the team started their offseason regimen, defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said.<\/p>\n

The workouts suddenly got so popular that one random weekday, Minter was stunned to see so many players that they could have held a defensive walk-through. Echoing Harbaugh, Minter called it the \u201cHerb Effect.\u201d It has Mack under its spell.<\/p>\n

\u201cHerb is a big deal,\u201d Mack said. \u201cHe was a big part of that decision coming back here as well. Just knowing the mindset that he has and how he thinks about the body. It\u2019s just the same approach and the same mindset that I have when I train by myself or with anybody else. I want to be a machine. I want to be as solid as possible, as strong as possible. Move people easy. And this program is all of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the first time in his Chargers tenure, Mack is without running mate Joey Bosa, who was cut in a salary-saving move. After three injury-riddled seasons punctuated his nine-year Chargers career, Bosa signed with the Buffalo Bills.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s weird without his former teammate, Mack said. He recently texted Bosa about how different the edge rusher room felt without Bosa breaking the silence with awkward jokes. They will at least reunite at Bosa\u2019s wedding next year.<\/p>\n

Bosa\u2019s departure opens the door for third-year edge rusher Tuli Tuipulotu<\/a> to step into a starring role. The USC alumnus started 20 games in the last two seasons as Bosa struggled with injuries and had a career-best 8 1\/2 sacks last season.<\/p>\n

\u201cTuli is a special player, man,\u201d Mack said. \u201cI\u2019ve been saying that ever since he stepped foot into the building, what, three years ago now. \u2026 It\u2019s not going to be no surprise to me when he\u2019s a 10, 12 sack guy this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Chargers drafted SEC defensive player of the year Kyle Kennard in the fourth round to bolster the edge room that also includes 32-year-old Bud Dupree.<\/p>\n

Mack\u2019s return was one of the first offseason moves the Chargers announced, and while he could have waited longer to entertain options from other teams as an unrestricted free agent, he chose not to linger on the market. Balancing financial decisions with his career and family, Mack kept a single focus.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just not wanting to give up on that goal and that ambition that I had ever since I had stepped in the league,\u201d Mack said. \u201cI knew I wanted to play in important games and win a Super Bowl at least.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rashawn Slater not focused on contract extension talks<\/p>\n

After missing organized team activities while waiting for a contract extension, star left tackle Rashawn Slater returned to mandatory minicamp this week with no concerns about the status of his deal approaching the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cRealistically speaking, I\u2019ve known for a long time it\u2019s how these things go,\u201d Slater said Thursday on the final day of minicamp of getting an extension done before the season. \u201cIt\u2019s not something that\u2019s bothered me. It\u2019s just the business of football, so I have full confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2025, Slater would be playing on a fifth-year option due to pay him about $19 million. The left tackle coming off his second Pro Bowl selection was rated the second-best tackle last year, according to Pro Football Focus.<\/p>\n

Many teammates were at the Chargers practice facility during organized team activities, but Slater continued his routine in Texas, where he works with Duke Manyweather, the top private offensive line coach among the NFL\u2019s best. Despite not working with the Chargers strength staff, Slater was more than prepared upon his return. The offensive lineman passed the conditioning test, and Harbaugh said Slater reported it was \u201ctoo easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Slater wanted to correct the record.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t say \u2018too easy,\u2019\u201d he said Thursday. \u201cI just said it was \u2018easy.\u2019 I\u2019m not trying to rub it in anybody\u2019s face.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Facing unrestricted free agency for the first time in his illustrious career, Khalil Mack could have chosen any…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":125127,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2064],"tags":[8245,241,5869,5096,7,11354,1436,253,30265,3278,1014,262,2444,2443,6,30264,674,189,185,1549,1320],"class_list":{"0":"post-125126","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-chargers","8":"tag-bosa","9":"tag-chargers","10":"tag-decision","11":"tag-first-time","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-franchise","14":"tag-harbaugh","15":"tag-houston-texans","16":"tag-important-game","17":"tag-khalil-mack","18":"tag-los-angeles","19":"tag-los-angeles-chargers","20":"tag-losangeles","21":"tag-losangeleschargers","22":"tag-nfl","23":"tag-no-brainer","24":"tag-sack","25":"tag-season","26":"tag-team","27":"tag-week","28":"tag-year"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114672866675275770","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125126\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}